January 12 2017

Page 1

Dog plan put on leash

ARTS

8

17

New Year's galleries

27

Mascara marvels

The

www.ebar.com

Since 1971, the newspaper of record for the San Francisco Bay Area LGBTQ community

Politics a family pursuit for D8 Supe Sheehy

Vol. 47 • No. 2 • January 12-18, 2017

Mayor Ed Lee, left, administers the oath of office for the Board of Supervisors to Jeff Sheehy as his husband, Bill Berry, and their daughter, Michelle, look on.

Rick Gerharter

The Castro/Upper Market Community Benefit District has received a $500,000 donation to begin work updating Harvey Milk Plaza.

Milk Plaza redesign gets $500K by Seth Hemmelgarn

by Matthew S. Bajko

P

olitics has long run in the family of Jeff Sheehy, appointed last week by San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee to the vacant District 8 seat on the Board of Supervisors.

His paternal grandfather, John Sheehy Sr., was appointed in 1934 to serve out a mayoral term in Waco, Texas, and decades later his father, James Robert Sheehy Sr., was elected mayor in 1992. A year later he was thrust into the national spotlight due to the deadly

federal raid on the Branch Davidian sect in a nearby town. At that time Jeff Sheehy was teaching English in Tokyo and was estranged from his lawyer father and mother, Zoe Ann, who See page 10 >>

With Trump in mind, SF supervisors vote for unity by Matthew S. Bajko

Rick Gerharter

transgender men and women “feel unwelcome in our country or unsafe in their e is still a week away from own communities” because of transphobecoming president, but bic policies being pushed by Republicans. Donald Trump loomed over And she pointed out that Mike Pence, this week’s swearings-in of new and the next vice president, “thinks the LGBT returning members to San Francisco’s community suffers from a disorder that Board of Supervisors. needs a cure.” The incoming Republican adminis“Not on my watch, not on my watch,” tration and GOP-controlled Congress vowed Breed, adding that the city’s valhave vowed to repeal the Affordable ues “have never been more important, Care Act, crack down on undocuour fight more clear, and our role never mented immigrants in the country, more needed.” and roll back workplace protections Her name being the only one put forfor LGBT federal employees as well as ward for the board presidency marked rescind other pro-LGBT policies. Not the first time in a decade that the superonly are all three actions anathema to visors had unanimously lined up behind Rick Gerharter San Francisco’s leaders, they are also one of their colleagues for the leadership likely to be coupled with severe finan- Newly re-elected San Francisco Board of Supervisors post, which sets the board’s agenda and cial implications for the city’s budget President London Breed, second from left, joined her family, doles out committee assignments, noted from left, cousin Chernia Breed-Williams with her son, and its residents. District 3 Supervisor Aaron Peskin, who Christian; mother, Priscilla Breed; and sister, Hattie Breed, With the change in leadership in seconded Breed’s nomination for the at a small reception following the swearing-in ceremony. the nation’s capital foremost in their presidency. minds, the often-fractious supervisors While acknowledging “there are policy opted for a show of unity this week. differences on this body,” the progressive worrying times,” warned Breed, who will overAll 11 members of the board voted to re-elect see the first board to have a female majority, Peskin said Breed, who aligns with the board’s District 5 Supervisor London Breed to a second now six-member moderate majority, had the consisting of six members, since 1995, when two-year term as board president at a special there were seven women serving as supervisors. smarts, independence, and qualifications “to meeting the morning of Monday, January 9. bridge that divide” at City Hall. She noted that not only are immigrants “Our city faces daunting challenges in under attack by the incoming president, but See page 10 >>

H

B

acked by a $500,000 donation from a gay California man and an upcoming international design competition, plans are being set for a multimillion-dollar redesign of San Francisco’s Harvey Milk Plaza. The dismal public space in the Castro district has been better known for the escalator that transports people from the underground Muni transit lines and for complaints about homeless people than it’s been for honoring the slain gay icon. The Harvey Milk Plaza Accessibility Improvements Project is expected to begin construction in 2020. A redesign for the plaza and Muni station was already expected in order to comply with accessibility mandates. Local residents and others “asked city leaders if the same construction window could also be used to reimagine the space as a fitting tribute to Milk and LGBT rights,” according to a news release from Andrea Aiello, executive director of the Castro/Upper Market Community Benefit District. “The city agreed.” “The accessibility project makes re-creating Harvey Milk Plaza much more of a reality because significant cost savings can be gained by rolling the re-envisioning project into the existing construction project,” Aiello stated. The project is expected to be funded by private donations and grants. The $500,000 donation from Lawrence Cushman, which gay state Senator Scott Wiener said was made several years ago into a fund at the Horizons Foundation for the plaza’s benefit, is being dedicated to help with the project, known as Friends of Harvey Milk Plaza. Cushman didn’t respond to interview requests. Two design charettes are planned for community members to give their input. The first will be from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, January 18 at Eureka Valley Recreation Center, 100 Collingwood Avenue. The second will See page 13 >>

{ FIRST OF THREE SECTIONS }

Highly competitive and nuanced, the Bay Area real estate market can be both challenging and rewarding. Zephyr turns local clients into successful home sellers, buyers and investors. ZephyrRE.com

THINK DYNAMIC & TENACIOUS Think Zephyr.


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.